Louisiana Maritime Brain Injury Lawyer

Traumatic brain injuries are among the most catastrophic outcomes of offshore and maritime accidents and among the most difficult to diagnose, document, and fully compensate. The brain does not show damage on a standard X-ray. Even after a serious TBI, an MRI may appear normal while the injured worker struggles with cognitive impairment, personality changes, chronic headaches, and the inability to return to work. Without an attorney who understands TBI litigation, these hidden injuries are routinely undervalued.

At The Maritime Injury Law Firm, George Vourvoulias has 20 years of experience pursuing full compensation for offshore workers who have suffered traumatic brain injuries on the water. He knows how to build these cases with the right independent neuropsychological experts, vocational rehabilitation specialists, and life care planners to ensure that the full long-term impact of a TBI is captured in your damages.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free consultation, 24/7. No fee unless we win.

How Maritime TBIs Happen

Falls on vessel decks

Falling on a moving vessel where the victim cannot control their fall the way they might on land frequently produces significant head injuries. A deckhand who slips on a wet deck and strikes their head on steel plating, equipment, or a bulkhead can sustain a TBI ranging from a mild concussion to a severe injury with prolonged loss of consciousness. The number of these falls is multiplied by the inadequate non-skid surfaces and poor lighting conditions common on aging Louisiana vessels.

Struck-by injuries from equipment and cargo

Crane accidents, dropped loads, snapped rigging, and swinging equipment are consistent sources of serious head injuries in maritime work. A steel shackle falling from above, a crane hook on a slack line, or a block knocked loose during rigging operations can strike a worker’s skull with lethal force. These accidents are frequently caused by inadequate crane maintenance, failure to establish exclusion zones during crane operations, and insufficient crew training.

Vessel collisions and sudden movement

When a vessel strikes another vessel or structure, crew members can be thrown across compartments, striking their heads on bulkheads, equipment, and overhead fixtures. The sudden deceleration of a collision, or the sudden acceleration of a wave strike, can also produce TBI through rapid acceleration/deceleration of the brain within the skull, without any direct impact.

Explosions and blast injuries

Offshore fires, well control events, and equipment explosions produce blast pressure waves that cause traumatic brain injury even when workers are not physically struck by debris. Blast TBI is a recognized injury category that is frequently missed in initial post-accident medical evaluations. Workers who were near an explosion and have cognitive symptoms deserve a thorough neuropsychological evaluation regardless of whether they sustained a visible head wound.

Falls overboard

Workers who fall overboard and strike the vessel hull, propeller guard, or water surface from height can sustain serious head injuries. Near-drowning events — where the brain is temporarily deprived of oxygen before rescue — can cause anoxic brain injury that produces cognitive and neurological deficits even when the worker appears to have physically recovered.

Categories of Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild TBI (concussion)

Mild TBI — commonly called concussion — involves a brief loss of consciousness, confusion, or altered mental status at the time of injury. Post-concussion syndrome, which can persist for months or years, includes headaches, cognitive slowing, memory problems, sleep disturbance, irritability, and depression. These symptoms significantly affect an offshore worker’s ability to perform their job and manage their daily life, but are frequently dismissed by employers and company doctors as pre-existing or exaggerated.

Moderate and severe TBI

Moderate TBI involves loss of consciousness for minutes to hours and confusion lasting days to weeks. Severe TBI involves extended unconsciousness or coma. Both categories can produce lasting deficits in memory, attention, executive function, processing speed, and emotional regulation. Survivors of severe TBI may require ongoing attendant care, cognitive rehabilitation, and permanent accommodation of their neurological limitations.

Diffuse axonal injury

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) occurs when rapid acceleration/deceleration shears the axons that connect neurons throughout the brain. DAI is often not visible on standard MRI and requires advanced imaging techniques to document. It is associated with significant cognitive impairment that appears disproportionate to the visible imaging findings, which employers use to argue that the worker is exaggerating. Expert neuropsychological testing is essential in these cases.

Building a Maritime TBI Case

TBI cases require more expert preparation than almost any other type of maritime injury claim. The key experts in these cases include:

  • Neurologist or neurosurgeon: to document the neurological basis of the injury and its prognosis
  • Neuropsychologist: to administer objective cognitive testing that documents deficits in memory, attention, processing speed, and executive function that are not visible on imaging
  • Psychiatrist or psychologist:  to document depression, anxiety, PTSD, and personality changes that commonly accompany TBI
  • Vocational rehabilitation expert: to document how the TBI affects the worker’s ability to perform their prior job and any other work
  • Life care planner: to project the cost of future medical care, cognitive rehabilitation, and attendant care over the worker’s lifetime
  • Economist: to calculate future lost earning capacity
George assembles and coordinates the expert team necessary to prove the full extent of a TBI and present it effectively to a jury. The difference between a properly documented TBI case and an underprepared one can be millions of dollars.

What to Do After a Maritime Head Injury

  1. Report in writing immediately. Fill out an injury report describing every unsafe condition. This document becomes critical evidence.
  2. Document everything. Photograph the scene, equipment, and your injuries. Get witness names and contact information.
  3. Don’t give a recorded statement. The company adjuster works for your employer. Do not speak with them before calling an attorney.
  4. Choose your own doctor. You have a legal right to an independent physician. Exercise it from day one.
  5. Call us before signing anything. Early settlement offers are almost always worth a fraction of case value. Call (504) 584-6300 first.
Critical: Seek immediate medical attention after any blow to the head, even if you feel normal at first. Many TBI symptoms are delayed — concussion symptoms may not fully emerge for hours or days after the injury. If you develop headaches, confusion, memory problems, visual disturbances, nausea, or personality changes following a head injury, tell your doctor and document these symptoms in writing. Do not return to work until cleared by an independent physician.
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Why George Vourvoulias

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What Clients Say

"George represented me when I got injured working on a tow boat. The company was playing pretty rough with me, but George was able to get them to provide my medical care and got me a large settlement."

— Curtis Watson, Lead Deckhand

"I was working on the Mississippi River as a deckhand when we were collided with by an upbound vessel pushing 40 barges. I was the only survivor. George's plan worked and he got a settlement that covered me for the rest of my life."

— Nate Dugan, Deckhand

"I hired George Vourvoulias after I suffered a back injury at work and a surgery that left me worse off than I was before. George explained everything to me and guided me through the process."

— Darren Holmes

Frequently Asked Questions About Maritime TBI’s

The company doctor says my CT scan is normal. Does that mean I don’t have a brain injury?

No. A normal CT scan does not rule out TBI. CT scans primarily identify acute bleeding and fractures. Diffuse axonal injury, post-concussion syndrome, and many forms of mild to moderate TBI do not produce abnormalities visible on a standard CT or even a standard MRI. Neuropsychological testing, which measures cognitive function objectively, and advanced MRI sequences (such as DTI and fMRI) can document TBI that standard imaging misses. If you have symptoms consistent with TBI after a head injury, get a comprehensive independent neurological evaluation regardless of what the company doctor’s CT shows.

I didn’t lose consciousness. Can I still have a TBI?

Yes. Loss of consciousness is not required for a TBI diagnosis. Confusion, disorientation, memory gaps around the time of injury, and altered mental status at the time of the event are all consistent with mild TBI even without loss of consciousness. Many workers with significant post-concussion syndrome never lost consciousness at the time of injury.

My TBI has caused serious depression and anxiety. Are those compensable?

Yes. Psychiatric sequelae of TBI — depression, anxiety, PTSD, and personality changes — are recognized consequences of brain injury and are fully compensable under the Jones Act. These conditions must be documented by appropriate mental health experts and linked by medical opinion to the causative trauma. George works with experienced neuropsychiatrists and psychologists who can provide the testimony necessary to include these damages in your claim.

Contact a Louisiana Maritime Brain Injury Lawyer

If you or a family member suffered a head or brain injury in an offshore or maritime accident in Louisiana, the complexity and value of your case demands experienced legal representation. Call today.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free and confidential, 24/7

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